Before You Begin
Strong community goals are not based only on activity or engagement.
The most effective communities create value for:
- The organization
- The customer
- The broader member experience
Use this worksheet to identify where business priorities and customer needs overlap, then define meaningful community goals based on that alignment.
SECTION 1: Define the Purpose of Your Community
Before defining goals, clarify the strategic purpose of your community.
Why does this community exist?
Who is this community meant to support?
What outcomes should this community help achieve?
☐ Reduce support burden
☐ Improve retention
☐ Increase product adoption
☐ Improve onboarding
☐ Increase customer satisfaction
☐ Encourage peer-to-peer support
☐ Build advocacy
☐ Gather customer feedback
☐ Create networking opportunities
☐ Other: _________________________________________
SECTION 2: Identify Organizational Priorities
List the top business priorities your organization is currently focused on.
Keep your focus on:
- Current-year priorities
- Measurable business outcomes
- Strategic initiatives
Business Priority | Why It Matters to the Organization |
|---|
Reduce churn | Improve customer retention and long-term revenue |
SECTION 3: Identify Customer Success Needs
What are customers trying to accomplish, improve, or solve?
Focus on:
- Success outcomes
- Pain points
- Knowledge gaps
- Support needs
Customer Need | Why It Matters to Customers |
|---|
Learn best practices faster | Helps customers feel successful and confident |
SECTION 4: Find the Overlap
Review your business priorities and customer needs. Where do they naturally align?
Business Priority | Customer Need | How the Community Can Help |
|---|
Reduce churn | Customers need faster support and onboarding help | Peer support, onboarding resources, best-practice discussions |
SECTION 5: Strategic Alignment
Review the overlaps you identified above.
What patterns or opportunities stand out?
Which business priority feels most aligned to community value right now?
Which customer need feels most important to support?
Based on your responses, what role should your community play?
☐ Customer support and problem-solving
☐ Onboarding & product education
☐ Member networking & relationship building
☐ Peer knowledge sharing & best practices
☐ Advocacy & champion development
☐ Strategic feedback & voice of customer
☐ Engagement & ongoing participation
☐ Other ___________________________________________________________________________
What is one opportunity your community could help improve over time?
SECTION 6: Final Strategy Reflection
Does your community clearly support a business purpose? How can you increase this?
Are you solving meaningful customer problems? Where might you begin?
Where does your community appear most valuable?
Download the worksheet and get started!